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The confirmation has arrived: Italy have truly turned the page. After their emphatic victory in Bursa, the Azzurri have also come through their second away trip to France unscathed. They passed their toughest test with flying colours against the new France under Zinedine Zidane, who was given a hero’s welcome in his first match as head coach at the stadium where, 28 years ago, his brace in the final against Brazil gave France their first World Cup title. Inspired by a superb goal from the player of the moment, Michael Olise, Les Bleus were pegged back by a never-say-die Italy, kept in the game by a magnificent performance from Gigio Donnarumma. Alessandro Bastoni, perhaps fittingly, scored Italy’s equaliser, having been the Azzurri’s most heavily criticised player after the night in Zenica. It was his second consecutive goal for the national team. Mancini had wanted to see a brave team, and that is exactly what he got: “The lads did everything perfectly. They defended as a team and attacked as a team. It was certainly a very positive evening. I wanted us to take another step forward in our development. I liked the way they tried to play, even though it wasn’t easy against a team full of great champions. We did well to concede very little despite them having more possession, and we did some excellent things.” Alessandro Bastoni was celebrating too: “It’s nice to score, but after that I was only thinking about making sure we didn’t concede another one. I’m happy with the result, which gives us the belief and confidence to look ahead.” Zenica now feels a little further away: “One episode doesn’t ruin a career; being able to pick yourself up time and time again is a great quality. We always believed in ourselves today. Even in the first half, we had the clearest chances. This is a starting point, but we have to keep our heads down because there is still one more match to play.”
JUST TWO CHANGES, THE ESPOSITO BROTHERS RETAINED. Mancini made eight changes to the starting XI that faced Belgium for Monday’s match in Turkey but there were just two alterations from the game in Bursa. One came in defence, where Calafiori reclaimed his place in the starting XI at left-back, while the other was up front, with Moise Kean joining the Esposito brothers in the front three. Even without Mbappé, France possess a formidable attacking threat in the shape of Olise, Doué and Dembélé, while in midfield Zidane brought Da Cunha back into the side ahead of Roma’s Koné, with Cherki and Rabiot operating as the two number eights.
OLISE MASTERCLASS, DONNARUMMA SHOW. A spectator in the first half, Donnarumma immediately became the protagonist at the start of the second: a fine save to deny Doué, followed by a sensational stop to keep out Dembélé’s point-blank follow-up. The Azzurri goalkeeper then produced another save to deny Olise, but there was nothing he could do about the Bayern Munich forward’s stunning free-kick. His left-footed effort kissed the crossbar before finding the top corner, a superb piece of technique worthy of applause. France were dominating possession, while Italy defended with ten men inside their own half. It was difficult for Pio Esposito to help the team move up the pitch. The Inter striker, who had started all three of Italy’s Nations League matches so far, was therefore replaced by debutant Vergara, with Kean moving into the centre of the attack. Another player who had started every match, Tonali, also made way, with Barella coming on in his place.
BASTONI AGAIN. Out of nowhere, Italy found an equaliser: Bastoni was the scorer, pressing high to win the ball back from Da Cunha before beating Maignan to score his second consecutive goal for the national team. Da Cunha tried to make amends for his mistake by setting up Rabiot, who sent a dangerous low diagonal towards the far corner, only to be denied once again by a magnificent Donnarumma, who then produced another superb save to keep out Camavinga. Mancini sent on Doumbia for Frattesi and Maldini for Sebastiano Esposito. Kean tested Maignan with a header from Vergara’s cross, before escaping Upamecano’s attention and forcing the French defender into a foul that earned him a second yellow card. France were down to ten men, and Italy came close to scoring again through Barella, who headed Vergara’s cross over the bar. The Napoli midfielder also made a very positive debut. Donnarumma produced yet another superb save to deny Camavinga, capping a true superhero performance. Italy finished the match on the front foot in search of a winning goal, showing the courage Mancini had wanted to see. They passed their test of maturity. On Monday, we will face Turkey again in Bologna, with the aim of following up the victory in Bursa and giving ourselves another reason to smile.
FRANCE 1-1 ITALY (0-0 HT )
FRANCIA (4-3-3): Maignan; Kalulu, Jacquet, Upamecano, Truffert; Cherki (75’ Camavinga), Da Cunha (87’ Lacroix), Rabiot; Olise, Dembélé, Doué (75’ Barcola).
Unused subs: Restes, Butez, Koundé, Koné, Diouf, Yoro, Akliouche, Lepaul.
Head Coach: Zidane.
ITALY (4-3-3): Donnarumma; Kayode, Scalvini, Bastoni, Calafiori; Tonali (61’ Barella), Frattesi (80’ Doumbia), Fagioli (89’ Scamacca); Kean, P. Esposito (61’ Vergara), S. Esposito (80’ Maldini).
Unused subs: Carnesecchi, Vicario, Ruggeri, Ricci, Zoma, Di Lorenzo, Mancini.
Head Coach:Mancini.
Referee: Gil Manzano (Spain).
Assistants: Porras Ayuso and Cabanero (Spain).
Fourth Official: Martinez Munuera (England).
VAR: Cuadra Fernandez (Spain)
AVAR: Gomez (Spain).
Goals: 55’ Olise (F), 68’ Bastoni (I).
Notes: Sent-off: Upamecano (F). Booked: Fagioli (I), Kean (I), Vergara (I) e Bastoni (I).
RESULTS AND STANDINGS FOR GROUP A1
Francia 1-1 Italia
Belgium 3-0 Türkiye 3-0
Standings: France 7, Belgium 6, Italy 4, Türkiye 0
Azzurri schedule for the international break